Scramblers Break Through the North Boundary

Yesterday's participants of the XTERRA North Boundary Blitz 6K Scramble arrived in Oak Ridge to a cold (34°) and foggy racecourse.  Runner's from ages 14 to 63 came out to tackle the woods, get a little wet, and have a lot of fun as the KTC and XTERRA put on a great race on a fantastic course.

Leading from the start, just as he did during last year's 15k version of this same race, Joe Goetz screamed through the course in 22:11; that's a 5:51 average pace on some difficult terrain!  The battle for second place between two of the KTC's premier Master's runners saw Tom Dever finishing in 23:09 to edge out Greg Johnson who finished third overall in 23:18.  For those of you who'd like to know, both Tom and Greg finished at a sub-6:10 pace. 

Another KTC speedster, Marsha Morton, won the woman's race in 28:47.  Marsha is another Master's runner proving that those over 40-year old runners are still a major force to be reckoned with in the club.  Woman's overall second place was Oak Ridge local Meg Chismark in 31:01 followed by third overall woman Melanie Cox in 32:35.  Melanie is still recovering from an injury about a year ago and looks to be well on the road to recovery.  Overall event winners were rewarded with medals, a 6-pack of New Knoxville beer, and 2 JFG coffee bricks.

The course was an adventure for all who dared to give it a whirl!  Starting on a trail-less (but recently mowed) utility cut, runners worked their way a half-mile to climb an embankment to the North Boundary Trail.  The course continued a little over a mile on the gravel path, then looped back on rocky single-track around a beautiful abandoned quarry before returning to the start on a very overgrown, very wet, slippery hole through the trees that served as a road in a past lifetime. 

Participant Cindi Holcombe loved the loop around the quarry so much she ran it twice, adding another mile to the course.  The total course GPS'd at 3.79 miles, slightly longer than the advertised 6k - 3.72 miles.

This race is run to benefit the Knoxville Track Club's Youth Athletics Program, and 100% of the proceeds will go to the YAP to promote a fitness-inspired lifestyle to the kids of East Tennessee. The race's sponsors made it extra special by providing course support and prize swag.  These great sponsors include Paul Mitchell, Gatorade, Gu, New Knoxville Brewing Company, and JFG Special Coffee.  We encourage all club members to reward their terrific support by using their products!

The rest of the group winners also ran an outstanding race.  Master's overall winners Ron Manis (24:10) and Sally Evenden (32:41), Grandmaster's winners Dorn Kile (30:31) and Shirley Sirois (39:07), Veteran's winners Eric Nicholls (31:27) and Phyllis Sizemore (40:21), and Clydesdale winner Mark Gore (30:20) kicked enough dirt to win their own medals, a 6-pack of New Knoxville beer, and a JFG coffee brick!  Age group winners were also received the medal, beer, and coffee awards while age group second and third place received medals and coffee bricks.

The KTC had some great volunteers help get this race going.  Sally Evenden came in early and worked with KTC Executive Director Betty Schohl to get registration running smoothly.  Barbara Bishop and Susan Stanford forded streams and the course's overgrown access trail to provide water and Gatorade on the course, and Stan Bishop and Betty Schohl efficiently ran the finish line.  Angie Manis turned the results around with her typical lightning speed so the awards ceremony could start a mere 60 minutes after the gun sounded.  Alex Brede and Katie McLeod served as the lovely awards girls, handing out swag to each of the winners.  Without their help this race couldn't have taken place.

Next year the XTERRA Scramble Series is teaming with the KTC's Mayor's Cup trail racing series to bring 3 events to the Knoxville area.  The winners of these events qualify to enter the XTERRA Scramble National Championship race.  With the strong off-road running community in East Tennessee, the KTC should make an excellent showing.  More information on this series, the point structure, and the XTERRA Scramble National Championship race will be included in Footnotes Magazine in the first part of 2007.  Don't miss these races!

Full results will be available on the Knoxville Track Club website, www.ktc.org.

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